The present invention concerns an applicator device for applying a material in the form of a lead, in particular for applying a cosmetic material.
Applicator devices for cosmetic preparations in pencil form, preferably with a rotary mechanism, in which the lead material is introduced into a front or holding part of that rotary mechanism and therein can be axially screwed out or even twisted forward and back are well-known. By way of example mention may be made here of German laid-open applications Nos. 32 15 215 and 198 51 219, German patents Nos. 37 28 427, 38 35 679 and 44 45 230 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,366,311 and 5,364,197.
In all cases the applicator device is in the form of a more or less regularly shaped cylinder. In that arrangement the holding part must be of a sufficiently long dimension as the lead material to be applied is disposed therein. In general disposed in the rear portion or rotary portion of the applicator device is a screwthreaded spindle which is arranged non-rotatably but axially movably and which co-operates with a screwthread portion on the holding part and thus provides for the forward drive of the lead material.
The lead material comprises a more or less soft cosmetic material which can be easily transferred on to the human skin and so forth. Such a lead material and in particular a cast lead material is therefore never a rigid body but is always a thixotropic preparation which is deformed or even liquefied under the effect of pressing or shearing forces. Accordingly an intermediate element is required between the screwthreaded spindle and the lead material, which converts the relative rotary movement of the spindle in the region of the screwthread portion in the holding part into an exclusively axial movement. Known in that respect are thrust elements or lead holders which are rigidly connected to the lead and which co-operate with the screwthreaded spindle for example by way of a ball joint.
That arrangement which is known from the state of the art now means that the rotary part must now also be of a sufficiently long dimension as it firstly must accommodate a screwthreaded spindle with a ‘nett length’ which is sufficient for the lead in the course of use to be conveyed as completely as possible out of the holding part. In addition however a fixing element must be provided at the rear end of the rotary spindle, the fixing element co-operating with corresponding means in the interior of the rotary part in order to prevent rotational movement of the screwthreaded spindle. Not least the screwthreaded spindle must contain the above-described intermediate element and the ball joint or another suitable means. The addition of those above-mentioned sub-components thus results in the applicator device being of a considerable overall length, as can be seen for example from U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,366,311 and 5,364,197 which have already been mentioned above.
The above-mentioned applicator devices are very often used in the area of ‘liners’, such as for example lipliners, eyeliners, eyebrow pencils or concealer pencils which are to be applied in point form. Such ‘liners’ usually involve lead diameters in the region of 2 to 5 mm with a usable length for the lead in the region of 35 to 60 mm. This means that applicator devices of the specified kind are of substantially different dimensions (and thus also involve substantially different handling problems) from conventional lipsticks involving lead diameters in the region between 10 and 15 mm and lead lengths of between 35 and 45 mm. In comparison with ‘liners’ lipsticks are short and stocky.
To protect the tip of the lead pencil from contamination and damage when not in use, the holding part is covered by a protective cap which is releasably fitted thereon, referred to as a ‘protector member’, which is usually fitted on over the holding part and fixed on the rotary part by means of a clamping fit. Usually—not least to facilitate removal of the holding part from the mould of the injection moulding tool—the clamping region between the holding part and the protector member is at least partially in the form of a cone portion. If the lead material contains volatile constituents such as for example volatile silicone oils or isoparaffins in order to impart as long durability as possible on the skin to the lead materials and to prevent the lead materials from migrating from the location of application thereof for as long as possible, provision is to be made for a good seal between the holding part and the protector member so that the clamping fit is of a correspondingly tight nature. In addition latching means can also be provided, in the form of co-operating annular grooves or annular ridges. Fitting the protector member on to the rotary part and thus completely covering over the holding part by the protector member ensures at the same time that the rotary mechanism is not actuated when the protector member is fitted in position and the lead material thus cannot be damaged by unintentional actuation. Accordingly the protector member is of a correspondingly large axial length.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,311 which has already been referred to hereinbefore and which forms the most relevant state of the art and which the present invention takes as its basic starting point provides that the holding part, the rotary part and the protector member are of a very small diameter and are of approximately the same axial length, wherein the holding part and the rotary part each form approximately half the length of the applicator device. A disadvantage with an applicator device of that kind is that the protector member has to be pulled off the rotary part, by applying some force. By virtue of its length, it can be easily radially deflected as it is being pulled off and in that situation can tilt, which can result in unintentional damage to the tip of the lead. In addition a long, thin, cylindrical body is difficult to grip, in particular when a lady user has already put cream on her face or hands.
The object of the present invention is to provide an applicator device of the kind set forth in the opening part of this specification, which minimises the tendency to tilting when the protector member is pulled off the rotary part and thus minimises the risk of damage to the tip of the lead. A further object of the present invention is that of continuously building up the necessary removal forces in order to reduce the risk of tearing off the protector member with subsequent tilting, causing damage to the tip of the lead material.